Le Comptoir et les Caves Legrand, 4 rue des Petits-Champs, Paris 2

The épicerie Legrand Filles et Fils (not to be confused with Bon Marché’s La Grande Épicerie) opened in 1880 and has long been known as a source of fine food items and for its excellent and extensive selection of wines. The street entry to the establishment is on the rue de la Banque, but some years ago, a wine bar and restaurant opened in the back, bordering on and continuing into the historic and beautiful Galerie Vivienne.

It is a popular location for lunch and dinner and for friends sharing a glass (or a bottle) between or after meals. Although there are some non-French diners every time I visit, the majority are French.

The interior has a cozy feeling with plenty of wood, warm lighting, and bottles of wines and spirits throughout. Benjamin Anthoni has been the chef since 2020. During late summer and the early part of autumn last year, the kitchen was closed for renovation, but it has now been open again since the last part of October. This was my first visit since the re-opening of the kitchen,

The carte changes every week to reflect the seasonal changes. The current carte, which also shows wine-by-the-glass suggestions for each dish:

The full list of wines-by-the-glass:

There is also an extensive and very good book of bottles of wine, and for a corkage fee of 25€, you can order any bottle from the épicerie’s current stock.

I began with a velouté of black trumpet mushrooms, cream, cumin, chives, and chestnuts. It was a good, earthy winter dish and my only regret is that it was not a little warmer.

With this, I took the suggested wine, a Côtes-du-Jura from Domaine Macle. This is a wine of Savagnin and Chardonnay made in the oxidative style traditional of the Jura region.

It was a superb wine with walnut aromas and flavors with enough acidity and strength to stand up to the hearty flavors of the velouté.

For my main course, I took the pigeon with a celery root and roast garlic purée, warm salad of Brussels sprouts and arugula, and pomegranate sauce.

This was a rich dish, but not heavy, and showed plenty of earthy, gamy flavor. For accompanying wine, I took a glass of Saumur-Champigny from the Cabernet Franc grape:

The wine was fairly simple, but offered attractive fruit that paired well with the pigeon.

I would have loved to order one of the desserts or the cheese plate, all of which looked attractive, but I did not have room for any of them.

The final bill:

Le Comptoir des Caves Legrand offers quality and seasonal cooking with a slight modern twist and an excellent choice of wines, all in a welcoming setting. I recommend it for lunch or dinner or just for some wine (perhaps with a plate of charcuterie or cheese).

Le Comptoir et les Caves Legrand

4 rue des Petits-Champs, 75002 Paris

Tel: 01 42 60 07 12

Tuesday-Saturday lunch and dinner

Métro: Bourse, Palais Royal Musée du Louvre, Étienne Marcel